The Storm of the Stars
by tardiscompanion101
Summary: Anastasia, a twenty-year old psycic, is sought out by a demon named Ciel Phantomhive. He intends to use her powers for his own gain; however, he will find that she can't be used easily. Ciel X OC AU (After season 2, modern day).
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

"Bored!" Anastasia yelled, throwing a knife at the door. It hit the door frame and stuck there. Anastasia's day was going normally. That is to say- slow. She was incredibly bored as she resorted to throwing knives for entertainment while sitting in her chair. Nobody had come in yet and it was close to noon. She had already finished her new book, Asylum by Madeline Roux, that she had gotten yesterday and now she had nothing to do.

With a sudden spurt of energy, she got up out of the chair and walked to the window, her long, dark blue skirt swishing behind her. Looking back and forth down the street, she groaned and sagged. Nothing- nobody was out walking. God she was so bored.

Anastasia walked back to her seat, sitting down and swinging her legs over the arm of the chair. She let her head drop back, not being supported by anything. It was a Monday, so nobody wanted to have their fortune told. And on top of that it was _raining_. She scowled to herself. _Stupid weather... stupid people... stupid England... _Anastasia usually loved the London weather, but now it just seemed to add to her foul temper.

Anastasia ran a small fortune telling business. For a small fee, she would tell someone's future or look into their past. Hers was one of the more popular ones because of how successful she was. Anastasia didn't use tricks or illusions- she could actually do everything she claimed.

Anastasia didn't know how she had gotten her gift- or _curse_ as she'd often thought. It had become apparent from a very early age. It started out as she'd say something- perhaps about the weather- and it would later come true. Later, her parents would test her by telling them what they were thinking. This gift had set her apart from everyone else, something she resented since she was but a girl.

Suddenly, the bell rang that signaled someone entering the small building. Her head snapped up and she immediately jumped out of her chair, looking into the parlor where costumers would wait. Someone was here! Thank God!

It was a young man, who looked to be about her age at about twenty. He had his back to her, leisurely gazing at the paintings she had in the hall. He was pale- very pale. Nothing at all like her own olive colored skin tone. He was dressed fancily in a navy suit and a top hat. He had navy blue hair. _Rather odd shade of hair,_ she mused to herself. Perhaps he dyed it.

Shaking her head as if to dispose of her thoughts, she opened the door dividing the small waiting area from the room she told fortunes in.

"How can I help you Mr...?" Anastasia asked. He turned around, showing that one of his royal blue eyes was covered with an eye patch.

"Phantomhive, Ciel Phantomhive," he said with just a touch of arrogance, confirming her beliefs that he was a British noble.

"What can I do for you today?" Anastasia asked with a polite smile. It wasn't every day that a British noble, walked into her business- she _did _want to make at least a semi-good impression. Perhaps he would tip well, she could hope. He sauntered leisurely towards her and she immediately tensed. He had an _aura_ of arrogance. Her fingers twitched, wanting to punch him square in the face.

"I have heard from many... colleagues, about your _amazing _gift." Anastasia immediately bristled, she _hated_ it when people thought she was a fake. "And I wanted to see it for myself." He stopped a couple paces from her- invading her personal space- and smirked at her in a way that made her wary. She tried to shrug it off as nothing, there was no reason as to why she should feel this way about someone she had just met.

"I'm sure I'll fulfill your expectations," she retorted boldly, straightening up as if to make up for their difference in height. He was _several_ inches taller than her even though she was wearing high heeled boots.

"Of course," he said smoothly, gesturing for them to go on with it. Stalking into the fortune telling room, she threw the blood red curtains shut, making the room dimmer than it was before. The room was painted a dark purple color that you could hardly see for all the bookshelves lining the walls. Many of these books were like The Art of Fortune Telling, or How to Know When the Worst is Coming. But if you looked closely you could see that many were fantasy books, such as Harry Potter. Anastasia loved books of every kind, and there was no such thing as a 'bad book', to her.

In the center of the room there was a small, round table with two chairs. That is where she would entertain her clients. There was only one light to be found, and that was in the form of a crystal chandelier hanging from the ceiling.

Anastasia gestured for him to sit in the wooden chair she typically offered to guests. He obeyed and sat down, all the while keeping a smirk on his face. Just seeing that smirk irritated her, making her want to make him eat his words.

"The past, present, and future are mine to command. I can sense the past, hear the present, and see the future. Which would you like today?" Anastasia asked slowly, still bristling about the jab about her legitimacy.

"Past," he replied with no small amount of arrogance. She raised an eyebrow. Usually her clients wanted to know the future. Usually some what-not about knowing lottery numbers, and rubbish such as that. Why would you want to know that, when you could know when the next world war was coming? (September, 2018, by the way). They would only choose the past if they were testing her, or thought she was a fraud. Her jaw tightened, as she sat down in her chair. There was nothing on the table- no crystal ball for her to gaze into, only fakes used those.

Anastasia laid her arms on the table on the table, her many bracelets jingling on her forearms.

"Lay your hands on the table, palms up," she instructed with a no-nonsense tone in her voice. He obeyed and she raised her arms, but then hesitated.

"Mr. Phantomhive, I will need to touch our foreheads together, are you alright with that?" Anastasia questioned.

"Please call me Ciel. And of course," he replied smoothly.

"Alright then... Ciel." After hesitating another moment she touched Ciel's temples gently and touched their heads together.

Instantly, her senses were flooded with the entirety of his past.

_Happy...Noble... parents...killed...cult...sacrifice..alone..so alone... _She grimaced, such a sad, grim past. But one word stood out from the rest, not so much as a word, but more of a dark feeling... _Demon._

She jerked back, and knocked over her chair in her haste to get as far away from him as possible. Her back hit the wall- hard- as she tried desperately to escape. Her green eyes were wide, pupils dilated in fear and she had an expression of pure terror on her face. She hastily made the three fingered gesture, long meant for warding off evil.

Ciel smirked in his annoying way, as if he was pleased with this outcome. Her breath was coming out in gasps, as she inched her way towards the door, never breaking eye contact. She was too afraid to even blink. He slowly rose from his chair, the legs scraping harshly against the wooden floor, and made his way towards her. He looked unnatural in the room, somehow supernatural-looking- too flawless to possibly be real.

Giving up, she turned and ran toward the door. Before Anastasia had even gotten three paces, she felt him grip her by her hair. He slammed her roughly against the wall, and pinned her arms to her sides. She struggled briefly, before giving up due to how strong he was. It was like fighting a brick wall. Her legs were trembling and soon they gave out, but she didn't fall, thanks to his super-like strength.

She turned her head to the side in fear as if she couldn't see it, it would magically go away. She was shaking in fear, her pulse racing, and emotions overruled by terror. A single tear slipped out from under her closed eyelid.

"Now, now," Ciel chided with a tone of utter amusement, "Don't cry." Anastasia took a shuddering breath, and reluctantly turned to face him.

"What do you want from me?" Anastasia begged, tears pricking her eyes. What did this monster want with her? She didn't do anything! All she did was go about her life, using her abilities to make money off of tourists- how was that a bad thing?

"I was merely curious as to how a mere _mortal_ could have such powers." Ciel tilted his head, and looked at her cryptically.

"I'm nothing special. Just leave this place!" He responded by tightening his grip on her arms, making her wince. She would definitely have bruises tomorrow- if she even had tomorrow.

He bent down to whisper in her ear, "Don't lie to me, my dear, you _are_ something special. A mortal with the power of a god? Think of all the ways you could be _used_." Anastasia shuddered in response to his words. She turned her head, suddenly nauseous.

"I'll never help you," Anastasia spat, turning back to face him. She didn't know exactly what he had meant by that, but anything a demon could want, couldn't be good. Ciel straightened up, tilting his head to the side, as if examining her.

"Brave words to say to a demon, my dear Anastasia," he said, as his eyes flashed bright fuchsia. Her breathing hitched, but she was transfixed at the sight of his eyes- she couldn't seem to look away from the horrific sight. "But I'm afraid you don't have much of a choice." Ciel hissed the last word, and then released her. Without him supporting her, she crumpled to the ground, like a rag doll, landing on her hands and knees.

He knelt down on one knee in front of her, and lifted her chin with his hand. His eyes sparkled with malevolent amusement, and a smirk played on his mouth. "I _would_ say I was sorry, but I would be lying." Ciel wiped away a stray tear on her cheek with his thumb and she closed her eyes, in fear. But the killing blow didn't come... instead she felt his lips on hers.

Anastasia's eyes flew open in shock and she froze. Then as fast as it had happened, it stopped. Ciel grinned at her expression of astonishment, before getting up and tossing something into the tray where her clients put their money.

"I will see you again, Anastasia. You can't escape me." He adjusted his top hat with a smirk and left, slamming the door behind him.

Anastasia's eyes were open in shock. She couldn't believe anything that just happened. She only summoned up enough energy to slam the sign on her window from 'Open' to 'Closed'. As she walked to the table, she saw that the thing he had tossed had been a huge stack of twenty pound notes along with an envelope. Shakily, she opened it to find a note.

_I wait until we meet again, Anastasia._

_-Ciel_

Her hands shook as she read the note in horror. Finally, she couldn't contain it anymore. All that had occurred caught up to her in that moment and she began to cry in earnest. She fell to the ground sat there with her face in her hands, weeping. The only thing she could remember thinking was _Why... Why?_

~~~~~~~~~~~~~(A/N)~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hi! I've been hoarding this on my laptop for a while, and I thought I might post it. I don't know if I'll continue it, but tell me what you think! I already have like half the second chapter, but I may not work on it. As some of you may know, I already have another fic, Nevermore, and it will take priority. This is just a fun thing that I did on the side. Anyway, I hope you like it!

Please review if you can, I'd really like it!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~tardiscompanion101~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

As days went by Anastasia began to worry a little less about the demon man she'd met. He, she figured, wouldn't come to her again. He probably just wanted to see if she actually had any of the powers she claimed. Though, even though she told herself this, she didn't fully believe it.

This is what she was thinking about as she got dressed in front of the mirror in her bedroom. She gazed at herself with a critical eye. She was wearing a long, dark purple skirt today, along with a leather half corset, and an off-the-shoulder top. She left her curly, brown hair down and it reached her waist. She wore her customary jewelry- a golden diadem and loads of bracelets.

Anastasia was still worried over the amount of money the demon had left her. It had been over eight hundred pounds. She still didn't know whether or not to use the tip- if it actually _was_ a tip, and not payment for... something that she'd rather not think about. Not knowing, she decided to just hide it in the floorboards of her small flat. She would use it in case of an emergency.

Shaking her thoughts off, she adjusted the diadem, and nodded happily at her reflection. She grabbed her small purse, that was filled with the keys to her flat, her phone, and a pitifully small amount of money if she needed something. Not she needed a phone- she didn't really have many friends, or family to talk to.

Leaving the flat, Anastasia locked the door behind her. The flat was part of a dilapidated old building that she rented from the cheapest man ever. Her flat was falling apart, and was constantly dirty, but it was all she could afford.

As soon as her door closed a voice yelled out from an open door on that level, "Where's my money?" It was Wilson, her landlord. Sighing, Anastasia walked past his door where she could see there was a middle aged man smoking a cigarette in his undershirt.

"I'll get you your money after work!" Anastasia yelled. By that time, she was already going down the stairs two at a time.

"You better girlie!" Anastasia rolled her eyes at his response, not bothering to give a reply.

When she got outside, she hailed a taxi to take her to work. When she arrived at her building, she got out her keys and opened the door. Anastasia sighed, knowing she needed to dust. Tossing her bag on the floor, she threw open the curtains to let in the light.

It was Saturday today, so Anastasia expected a larger crowd than what she got on the week days. So many tourists were willing to have their fortune told by someone, and they always tipped more than Londoners. Londoners had already become tired of the constant parlor tricks, that they could see anywhere in the city.

Anastasia sighed, leaning her forehead against the cool glass of the window. She felt worn out from thinking too much about what had happened that Monday. So very little had ever happened to her, and she had no idea how to react to this. It wasn't as if she could just go to the police- she knew how that would go. She would be locked up in a mental institution, never to be heard from again.

"You know, you might get more customers if you cleaned up a little. This place is filthy!"

Anastasia whipped around, taking a dagger off of a shelf, and aiming it at the person. The person in question held up their hands in the air.

"Oi! I just wanted to visit! Don't kill me!" Anastasia lowered the dagger, now knowing it was her only friend, Vivianna.

"Good God, Viv! You terrified me out of my wits!" Anastasia exclaimed. She had already been on edge because of Monday, she didn't need any more surprises. Her friend had the decency to look abashed.

"Sorry," Vivianna said, shrugging. Vivianna had long, naturally blond, hair that she'd dyed electric blue. It made her icy blue eyes pop on her face. She was smacking her customary stick of icy, mint gum. Anastasia had literally never seen her without her chewing gum. Anastasia rolled her eyes, carelessly tossing the dagger to the floor.

"What do you want?" Anastasia asked heavily. Vivianna looked shocked.

"You mean I have to have an excuse to visit my dearest friend?" Vivianna exclaimed. Anastasia responded by merely raising an eyebrow. "Okay, okay," Vivianna sighed, "I wanted to see if you would go out shopping with me!" She was practically bouncing with excitement. Anastasia sighed, rubbing her temples at her friend.

"You know I can't go shopping," she said wearily, "I have to open up the shop." Vivianna pouted slightly.

"Come on! You can take one day off!"

"No."

"Please?"

"No."

"Pretty please with cinnamon sugar on top?" Vivianna begged. Anastasia hesitated, think of the money under her floorboards.

"You won't be gone long, you'll be back for the afternoon crowd," Vivianna wheedled. Anastasia sighed.

"Alright, alright, I'll go." Vivianna cheered, but Anastasia held up a finger. "But you must promise I'll be back before noon.

"Cross my heart, hope to die," Vivianna promised, crossing her heart. Anastasia nodded, satisfied. Anastasia picked up her bag from off the floor, and replaced the dagger to where it was supposed to go. She had multiple daggers hidden all over the room- in curtains, under book shelves, under tables... Many wouldn't believe how many weapons she had in her medium-sized room.

"Alright, let's go." Vivianna grinned and promptly took hold of her arm and practically dragged her out the door.

"This new boutique kind of place opened a couple of days ago, and I haven't had the chance to go in yet. Apparently it has a lot of cool stuff- kind of goth. Though everyone I've talked to has said that they've found a lot of cool stuff- especially for the Halloween season." Anastasia tuned out her friends chatter unconsciously , and began looking up and down the street.

Vivianna had been born into quite a bit of money, and she could get everything that she wanted. They seemed like an unlikely choice for best friends; one rich as the queen, and the other poor as a mouse. But Vivianna had always been obsessed with the macabre and the supernatural, so meeting Anastasia was like a dream come true for her. Once she had found out about Anastasia's abilities, she came to her demanding to be shown them. They'd been friends ever since.

"Here it is!" Vivianna chirped, standing in front of a black building. Anastasia blinked once. Twice. Three times.

The building had an open coffin on the outside, and a fake skeleton lying inside it. At least, she hoped it was fake. If it wasn't... Well, then they may want to run. Hard. The building was completely black, and had the word 'Undertaker', on the front. It would have looked quite menacing, if there weren't people milling about it with shopping bags, talking to their friends. That was the only thing that gave Anastasia enough courage to actually walk up to the front step.

Vivianna bounded up to the door, in excitement, and Anastasia reluctantly followed. While Vivianna immediately burst through the door, and started looking at everything in sight, Anastasia walked in slower. It was no surprise to find that the inside, was not much different from the outside. The inside was dark as well, but instead of black, it was a dark grey. It was decorated differently than any other department store, that she'd ever seen.

For one, there were coffins everywhere. And she meant _everywhere_. Some of the clothes were stacked on them, instead of tables. There were also candles everywhere; from sconces, on top of bookshelves, anywhere there was a flat surface. However, it actually smelled rather nice. Anastasia cautiously sniffed the candle next to her, and found it to be cinnamon scented.

"Hmm," she hummed, nonsensically. Maybe this place wasn't _so_ bad. She let her eyes wander around the store. There were mainly girls ranging from ages 13-22 in the store, and even a few males. As expected, most of the clothes were black, though there were some strange pieces. There was one, black, lacy piece near her, that didn't seem to have any kind of function. And if it did, she didn't want to know what it was.

As Anastasia was browsing the clothing selection, a strange voice came from behind her.

"Looking for something, dearie?" She immediately spun around, her hand instinctively going to where her knife was hidden. It was surprisingly easy to hide knives in her costume. She was especially on edge, for obvious reasons. Even after almost a week, she was still as wary as she had been that day.

"Not particularly," she answered, eying him warily. He didn't appear to be _that_ dangerous. _Famous last words..._ The man had long, silver hair, that had a small braid in it. He was wearing a strange ensemble- and that was coming from her- of a black overcoat, and black pants. His thick fringe hid his eyes from view, and Anastasia wondered how he could even see out of it.

The man grinned widely, as he had just noticed something. Leaning in closer, he tilted her head back with her hand, as if to get another look. She immediately froze. _What was he doing...?_ After another moment of examining her, he released her.

"You should probably want to come with me, dearie," the strange man said, turning around, and walking across the store, behind a black curtain. She was torn; should she go? There was a very high chance that she could be killed... Oh well, curiosity killed the cat, but satisfaction brought it back. Sighing to herself, she hurriedly followed after the strange man.

When she parted the black curtain, she found herself in a long hallway, lit with sconces. She barely spared a moment to realize that the scones had real candles in them. _Well, that is a fire hazard..._

"Who are you?" Anastasia asked, slightly out of breath, after having jogged after him. His gait was surprisingly long, and she had to practically run to keep up with him. He abruptly stopped in his tracks at her question, and she barely managed to keep from crashing into him.

"I'm the Undertaker, and you are?" The Undertaker asked, grinning widely. Anastasia was bewildered, what kind of name was Undertaker?

"Anastasia," she answered, "Anastasia Blackwell." This man may be strange- to say the least- but she at least tried to be polite. The Undertaker grinned at her again.

"Wonderful to meet you, Anastasia Blackwell," he greeted, "You're in danger." With that, he turned back around and kept walking. But Anastasia stopped in her tracks. _What did he mean...? Does he know about Ciel?_ With those thoughts in her head, she blinked, and then caught up to the Undertaker.

"Wait! What do you mean?" She demanded from behind the Undertaker. She could hear him chuckle lowly.

"All in good time, dearie," he answered in an annoyingly, sing-song voice. She huffed at his answer, and the apparently permanent nickname that she'd been given.

"I will kill you!" She was growing frustrated, and the Undertaker turned at that.

"Dearie, if you could manage that, then I deserve to die," the Undertaker said laughingly. Her eyes widened at that. She had said the- false- threat, mainly out of frustration, and anxiety. Plus, she was used to making- sometimes- false threats. But at his reaction, she realized how easy it would be, for him to kill her now. Still grinning, he turned around.

After another few moments, they reached a solid, black, oak door. Not pausing a moment, the Undertaker opened the door, and walked straight in. Hesitating for a moment, Anastasia reluctantly followed him- mainly out of curiosity. After all, she was wondering why he even brought her here.

"What are we doing here?" Anastasia asked, voicing her concerns. The Undertaker ignored her briefly, choosing to open and consult a large tome near him. After a moment, he snapped the book shut, and looked back at her, grinning.

"We are doing nothing, I just needed to take a peek at this book, dearie," the Undertaker answered enigmatically. Anastasia fought the urge to roll her eyes at this over-grown child. Though she had more patience than most people, this man was starting to irritate her.

"Then why did you bring me down here, then?" Anastasia snapped, bringing her hands up to place on her hips. The Undertaker grinned widely at her.

"Why, I didn't bring you down here~ you followed me~" The Undertaker grinned. Anastasia scowled at him, fed up with him.

"Uggg!" Anastasia exclaimed, exasperated. She spun around, about to leave. One side of the Undertaker's mouth lifted into a half-smile. Lazily sitting down in a chair, the Undertaker placed his arms on the table, looking up at her, grinning.

"I wouldn't do that, I may be able to help you with your little problem..." Anastasia stopped in her tracks.

"Whatever do you mean?" Anastasia asked, swallowing thickly.

"After all, it isn't wise to get involved with _demons_," the Undertaker continued. Anastasia spun around to face him, at that.

"What do you know about that?" She demanded, her eyes locked with the Undertaker's. Or at least, where she thought his eyes were. She couldn't see them, since they were hidden behind his thick fringe.

"I know that the little lord seemed _awfully_ interested in you~" The Undertaker answered. Anastasia's eyes widened. The demon _had_ looked like an aristocrat to her...

"But why?" Her voice broke slightly as she asked the question, and she cleared her throat. "Why is he interested in me?" The Undertaker tilted his head lazily.

"I think you know the answer to that." Anastasia looked down at the floor. Surely there were others like her? Why couldn't the damn demon just go to one of them? _Oh God... I sound awful..._ But it was true, if given the chance, she would want him to go after another. _Though..._ Her eyes lowered even further, _no one deserves that. _

"Can you help me?" Anastasia asked stiffly. She wouldn't beg, and she doubted this man would help her even if she did. The Undertaker's smile faltered a little.

"I'm afraid not. But know this, no major harm will come to you." Her head snapped up at that, and she looked at him incredulously.

"How the _hell_ do you think that no harm will come to me?" She asked incredulously. What part of demon did he not understand? He smiled enigmatically at her, and didn't answer.

"But know this," the Undertaker said, his voice suddenly serious, "Demons are strange creatures, especially the house of Phantomhive, but there is always something in them, that even they can't see at times." By now Anastasia was extremely confused, what did he even mean? Before she could ask him, he was ushering her out of the room. Before she knew what was happening, she was back in the store, looking at the black curtain.

Out of instinct, she reached her hand out to move it, to see if it was a hallucination or not.

"Anastasia!" Vivianna called. She spun on her heel to face her friend, who was holding up a black lace dress. Vivianna frowned at the look on her friend's face. "Are you okay?" Anastasia shook her head, before looking at Vivianna, and grinning.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Anastasia reassured, "Do you want to keep shopping?" Smiling eagerly, Vivianna nodded.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~(A/N)~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hello random people reading this! Thank you so much for reading and reviewing, I actually like writing this. News: I'm getting a Mac during Christmas Break! (One thing, you may not know, but I have the shittiest computer in the world. It's worse than the school computers. That's saying something.) Anyway, hurray for that- and Christmas! Candy & presents! I've also been watching all the X-men movies, so that's been fun. Why is it that I always cry during a Marvel movie?! Seriously, is it just me?

Reviews:

Foreveradreamerinlife: I'm glad that you like it, I hope you liked this chapter too!

Awesomealixe: I'm really glad you like it! I'm glad that you like Anastasia (She's basically the opposite of me, but I still like her).

Naiko20: I'm glad you like it, and I will most likely keep writing in this fic. (Until I get bored...)

Esmereilda: I'm glad that you like this fic, and it will be a lot different from Nevermore (Though there will be some similarities, like them both being psychics.) Plus Ciel will be a lot darker in this fic, while he's at least semi-nice most of the time in Nevermore. I hope you continue reading & reviewing!

YinxShroudForever: It makes me happy that you liked it!

Grandprincessanastasiaromanov5: I'm glad you like it! (Plus I love your username!)

Darkshadow400: I hope you liked the chapter! ;)

Review please~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~tardiscompanion101~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

It was a Tuesday again, and the day was going slowly. _As usual..._ But, since Summer was starting up, more tourists were coming to London, which meant more money for her. Anastasia wasn't a particularly greedy person- or at least, she tried not to think so- but you would have to be stupid to turn down extra money.

But even though more people were in London, that didn't mean that many were willing to spend their time and money on a fortune teller in a dilapidated, old shop. Tourists were too busy going to restaurants, taking selfies next to Big Ben, and climbing random statues, to actually do anything worthwhile. Okay, maybe she was a bit biased- but still! It was the least they could do, to spend some of their money supporting hard-working psychics like her! As you can probably tell, Anastasia was in a bit of a mood.

She had been sitting in her store for four hours, and no one had even _glanced_ inside. It was like she was invisible, or something! It was getting ridiculous. She had already read one of the new books that she'd gotten, Of Monsters and Madness, which was a surprisingly good book. A lot of the books that she had seen lately, were either horror, or at least scary. It wasn't even Autumn!

Restlessly getting up from her chair, again, she paced around the perimeter of the room. It was a good size, large enough for her to fit most of her nonfiction books in it. Whenever Anastasia had money, she would spend it on books. That was the main reason why she never had any money, and was emotionally unstable. Books were her therapy, but they were also the reason why she should probably see a therapist. That, and being stalked by monsters from hell. Yay.

As if it could read her thoughts, the bell above the door rang, announcing someone entering the building. Anastasia's head snapped quickly, immediately looking towards the 'waiting room'. There was a man there with black hair, and a rather stoic expression on his face, waiting inside. His gold eyes, covered in a pair of glasses, were the only thing that betrayed his thoughts. They made Anastasia uneasy, for no apparent reason, other than they made her feel queasy.

Pushing the thought aside, she forced a smile on her face, and walked into the doorway to the waiting room. His golden eyes immediately fell upon her, and she had to force herself not to shiver. He was rather attractive, but there was just something about him...

"How may I help you today, Mr...?" Anastasia asked, in her usual greeting. The man barely reacted, as if she wasn't even there. If it were not for his eyes, she would have disliked him. But something in that gaze made her want to run.

"Claude Faustus," he answered. His voice didn't fit his expression, but was more silky- but not in a good way. It fluttered over her skin, making her shudder, and his voice felt like nails on a chalkboard to her. His mere voice just felt _wrong_ for reasons that she could not comprehend.

"Is there anything that you would like today?" Anastasia asked politely, despite his very presence.

"Yes actually," he said, giving a smile. The mere action looked unnatural on his face. "I was wondering if you had anything on demons?" He took a step closer, almost preening. Anastasia swallowed.

"I'm afraid I don't do those types of things. I predict the future, not brew spells," she said stiffly. "Now, if you excuse me." She moved to close the door, but when she blinked, he was there, holding the door open. He was now so close to her that they were almost touching.

"You must have misunderstood me," he said, his voice sounding calm, while his face portraying his amusement at her expense.

Backing away hastily into her main room, she brushed her hand against the hidden knife in her skirt. _Thank you me, for thinking to hide weapons in my clothing,_ Anastasia thought to herself. The man smirked at her- showing by far the most emotion so far- and sauntered toward her, with every backward step she took.

Gripping the knife behind her back, she threw it with deadly accuracy towards her attacker. Without even blinking, the man caught it between two fingers, confirming her belief of his nature. Darting her eyes back and forth, Anastasia looked desperately for something to throw at him.

"Now, now," Claude tutted, "I merely wanted to have a word with you." he twirled the knife in between his fingers, and Anastasia's back hit the wall. Desperately, she reached toward the vase to her left. Before she could get within inches of the thing, her throwing knife embedded itself right in front of her nose.

Anastasia froze, her eyes wide, almost popping out of her skull. She breathed heavily through her nose, not daring to move an inch. Claude tutted, and she could see him out of her peripheral vision. She didn't dare move her head to see him fully, she doubted she could if she tried, anyway.

Claude stepped forward, turning her head easily with his forefinger. Green eyes, pupils dilated in fear, met gold eyes.

"Your more perceptive than I had thought..." He commented idly, tilting her head, to expose more of her neck. He leaned closer, and Anastasia started hyperventilating. _What is he going to do!? _Her thoughts spun wildly, and without thinking, she pulled the knife out of the wall, and stabbed it in his hand.

Claude hissed, sounding like a feral cat, before picking her up by her neck, and slamming her against the wall. His white glove was stained crimson. Anastasia gasped for breath, his hand tightening around her.

"It did not have to be this way," he reprimanded, his eyes glowing fuchsia, "You could have simply come with me, and we wouldn't have had to deal with all of this." Anastasia began to feel lightheaded, until she could no longer understand what he was saying. The last of the air in her lungs went stale.

Abruptly, he released her, and she fell to the floor, clutching at her throat. Claude was staring out the window, seemingly lost in thought. The light reflected off his glasses, causing a glare, so she couldn't see his eyes.

"Ciel…" He breathed, before smirking down at her, "So I'm not the first to see you." She didn't look up at him, preoccupied with getting enough air in her lungs. She supported herself with one hand, panting. "And I thought I was special," he sighed from above her.

Claude bent down, kneeling so he was in front of Anastasia. Lifting her chin, she was forced to look him in the eye.

"I'll be back, remember that," he said. She shuddered at his words, but couldn't find it in her to do anything else. Claude stood up, brushing his pants off. Pulling off the blood stained glove, he replaced it with one from his pocket. Despite the situation, Anastasia found that slightly funny. Did he just go around, carrying a bunch of spare gloves in his pocket?

Anastasia wasn't sure how much time had passed, but by the time she looked up again, he was gone. She shuddered out of nowhere. Why was this happening to her? It was one thing to have _a_ demon after her. Admittedly, not a good thing, but better than two. But why were two demons after her? She couldn't possibly be that 'different'. There had to be lots of others like her; why was she the only one being targeted?

When she finally summoned up enough energy, she stood up, her knees aching from being on the ground for too long. Quickly switching the sign around to 'closed', she drew the curtains closed. Sinking to her knees in the corner, Anastasia laid down in a tight ball, trying to hide from the world, at least for a little while.

After about a few hours of aimlessly staring into space, Anastasia shakily got to her feet. There was no point staying here any longer. Plus, it was late afternoon- around six o'clock- and she didn't want to walk home when it was dark. Quickly collecting her bag, she took one last glance around the place. It was a mess, but she couldn't find it in her to care at the moment.

Her fear was gone from earlier, and she just felt empty inside. Anastasia shoved everything inside her bag, and walked outside, locking the door behind her. The sun was setting, but if she hurried, she could make it back to her flat. She kept glancing over her shoulder, as if expecting someone to be following her. In her defense, it wasn't that strange of a worry, with all that had happened to her lately. Hurrying past the darkening alleys, she finally made it to her complex.

Sighing with relief, Anastasia went to her floor, and put her key in the lock. Fumbling with the key, she finally got the door open. Slamming the door closed behind her, she stood in her flat. Silence greeted her. Taking a deep breath, she slid her purse off of her arm, and onto the ground.

Setting her keys down on the counter, Anastasia took out the orange juice out of the fridge, and poured a glass for herself. Downing it quickly, she made her way to her room to get undressed.

Her room was dark when she entered it, and she didn't bother to turn on a light. Instead, she entered her adjoining bathroom, and took out her turquoise, hoop earrings that she'd worn that day. Sighing, she set them down on the counter, and proceeded to take off her necklace, and all her bracelets. Anastasia messily put her hair up in a bun- not that it really worked, since her hair was hard to control. But either way, it got it out of her way.

Anastasia had rather sharp features. She was different looking, and she knew it. She had clear, darker, olive colored skin. Her facial features were different from anyone else she knew. She had rather prominent cheekbones, and full lips. Her nose was slightly longer, than what was considered normal. She definitely didn't fit the 'profile' of what was beautiful, but she thought she was pretty in her own way.

Splashing water on her face, she scrubbed off all the makeup that she was forced to wear for work. If it were up to her, she would never wear makeup. She hated the feeling on her face, and she was generally too lazy to want to do it. Walking out of the bathroom, she reentered the dark room.

"You look much better without all the unnecessary makeup on," a smooth voice drawled, from behind her. Anastasia whipped around, to see Ciel sitting in the corner of her room.

Backing away, her eyes wide, she whipped around to face the door. Almost instantly, the door slammed shut, but she hadn't even touched it. Warily, she turned back around to face Ciel.

"What do you want?" Anastasia asked wearily. She had by far had enough, today. Ciel smirked.

"You sound so happy to see me," Ciel said sarcastically. He stood up, still smirking. Anastasia took a step backwards, not wanting to be any closer to the demon than she had to. "I did say I would be back after all." A headache was throbbing throughout Anastasia's head by now. Why did he have to do this today of all days? Why was the universe plotting against her?

"Get away from me," she said stiffly. She was exhausted, both mentally and physically, and she didn't want to deal with this. Ciel arched an eyebrow, before flicking a finger. As if being held by invisible bonds, Anastasia found herself leaning against the wall, unable to move. Smirking, Ciel made his way towards her.

"You seem to be under the mistaken impression that I obey you," Ciel warned, the underlying threat clear in his voice. Because of whatever he had done to her, Anastasia found herself unable to even answer, or retort. She settled for merely glaring at him, her eyes being the only things that she could move freely.

After another moment of Anastasia glaring at him, he sighed, releasing her with a click of his fingers. She gasped almost immediately, her body flooded with relief at being able to move again. Even though whatever he had done to her, didn't affect her breathing, she still felt oxygen-deprived.

"What do you want with me?" Anastasia begged, fear creeping in her voice for the first time. She was just so tired...

"Want?" Ciel inquired, arching an eyebrow, "I don't want you for anything in particular. But I do believe that you'd be useful to have around..." Anastasia shuddered at his words, and shuddered even more, when he reached up to touch her cheek.

"But why me?" She whispered, almost too quiet to be heard.

"Pardon?" Ciel asked, tilting his head slightly to the side.

"But why me," Anastasia repeated, slightly louder. He glanced at her, with a faint smirk on his face.

"Why not you," he answered, condescendingly, "Would you prefer it was someone else; someone you didn't know- didn't have any relation to?" Anastasia bit her lip. She did, she admitted it. "Would you?" Ciel demanded.

"Yes!" Anastasia snapped, staring him boldly in the eye. "I don't want to be involved in this!" Ciel arched an eyebrow, a cruel smile filling his face. Ashamed, Anastasia lowered her head. Oh God, what was wrong with her? "Please," she whispered, closing her eyes, "Just leave."

She heard a faint chuckle above her, before his hand moved away from her. Several moments of silence passed, and she was about to open her eyes.

"Just remember," Ciel whispered into her ear, his breath blowing against the sensitive skin on her neck, "I will be back for you. Soon." Anastasia could sense him moving away, and when she finally gathered the courage to open her eyes, he was gone. Silent as the wind, and almost as hard to catch.

Turning on her lamp, the golden light filled the room, illuminating everything. No more monsters hiding in the dark. Not again. Sighing to herself- mostly out of exhaustion- she stripped herself of her skirt, and over blouse, and fell asleep almost immediately.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~(A/N)~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hi guys, hope you liked the chapter. Sorry I haven't been updating much lately, just haven't been in a huge writing mood. Anyway, hope you liked the chapter, please review if you did, if not- review anyway.

Reviews:

The Billionth Random Monkey: Yeah... You definitely got the book thing right (I love to read!), and I wanted my characters to have powers, and I thought psychic powers were good, since they weren't too powerful. This is actually the fic that Nevermore is based off of, since I actually started this one first- I just never posted it. I hope you liked the chapter, and I will (probably) not leave this unfinished! If I do, you have my permission to slap me.

LinneaFox: Of course I'll check it out, I'm really glad you like this fic!

Killerdawgrox: I'm happy you like it! ;)

Naiko20: I know, I thought- hmm, what would the Undertaker do? Plus he's too fabulous to _not_ run a clothing store. Hope you liked the chapter!

Foreveradreamerinlife: So glad you love it!

Esmereilda: I hope this lived up to your expectations!

Dark shadow400: I'm really glad you liked the fic so far, hope you liked this chapter!

YinxShroudForever: So glad you like it! (I always think I'm better at creating pictures when I'm in third person, as opposed to first.)

Please review! It's good to know that this is loved!


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Anastasia slowly awakened, blinking her eyes wearily as she struggled to remember why she was so tired. As she searched her mind, she remembered the events of the previous night. Groaning, she covered her head with a pillow from her bed. Why did demons _have_ to have an obsession with her? There were others like her, of that she was sure, why her of all people?

"Ugg…" She groaned aloud to her room. Should she go back to the shop today? It _was_ a Wednesday, which meant more people would be about. _And think about how that worked out for me last time… _Yeah… _Maybe I won't go in today._

Getting up, she immediately made her way to her kitchen, dressed only in her pajamas and a tank top. She was a rather modest person… but to be honest, when she slept, she dressed like a whore. Then again, didn't most people? Immediately grabbing the kettle, she started to boil water. Yes, Anastasia was one of those annoying British people, who was obsessed with tea. She much preferred it over coffee, and could barely function throughout the day, if she didn't have it.

Getting out her favorite cup- a blue cup with Van Gogh swirls on it- she poured the boiling water on top of her teabag, before letting it steep for a few minutes. After taking the teabag out, she leaned her forearms on the countertops, drinking her tea. If she wasn't going to open the shop, then what was she going to do? _I could always just roam London, _she mused. It was as good idea as any.

After she finished her tea, she set the cup down in her sink, and made her way to her bedroom.

Her flat was small, only consisting of a rather small kitchen, a living room, a bedroom, and a rundown bathroom. It was old, and the floors creaked when you stepped on them, making it near impossible to be silent in her flat. Her kitchen was small, only big enough for one person, and had outdated appliances. The walls were thin, and she could _clearly_ hear her neighbors. But it was hers, and hers alone. Anastasia was happy with the world she had created for herself. She didn't need diamonds, when she could have books. She didn't need people, when she had the characters in her stories. She was the ruler of a kingdom she had made herself.

Closing her door behind her, Anastasia got quickly took a shower, since she hadn't had the chance last night. Letting the hot water run down her body, she hummed a song she had had stuck in her head since yesterday. She was by no means extremely musical, but she could carry a tune well enough. Opening her mouth, she began to sing.

_ "How can you see into my eyes like open doors?_

_Leading you down into my core where I've become so numb._

_Without a soul, my spirit sleeping somewhere cold._

_Until you find it there and lead it back home."_

_ "__Wake me up,_

_(Wake me up inside),_

_I can't wake up,_

_(Wake me up inside)."_

_ "__Save me._

_(Call my name and save me from the dark),_

_Wake me up,_

_(Bid my blood to run)."_

_ "__I can't wake up,_

_(Before I come undone),_

_Save me,_

_(Save me from the nothing I've become)."_

_ "__Now that I know what I'm without,_

_You can't just leave me,_

_Breathe into me and make me real,_

_Bring me to life."_

_ "__Wake me up,_

_(Wake me up inside),_

_I can't wake up,_

_(Wake me up inside)."_

_ "__Save me,_

_(Call my name and save me from the dark),_

_Wake me up,_

_(Bid my blood to run)."_

_ "__I can't wake up,_

_(Before I come undone),_

_Save me,_

_(Save me from the nothing I've become)."_

_ "__I've been living a lie,_

_There's nothing inside,_

_Bring me to life,_

_Frozen inside without your touch."_

_ "__Without your love, darling,_

_Only you are the life among the dead,_

_All this time, I can't believe I couldn't see,_

_Kept in the dark but you were there in front of me."_

_ "__I've been sleeping a thousand years it seems,_

_Got to open my eyes to everything,_

_Without thought, without voice, without a soul,_

_Don't let me die here."_

_ "__There must be something more,_

_Bring me to life,_

_Wake me up,_

_(Wake me up inside)."_

_ "__I can't wake up,_

_(Wake me up inside),_

_Save me,_

_(Call my name and save me from the dark)."_

_Wake me up,_

_(Bid my blood to run),_

_I can't wake up,_

_(Before I come undone)."_

_ "__Save me,_

_(Save me from the nothing I've become),_

_Bring me to life,_

_I've been living a lie."_

_ "__There's nothing inside,_

_Bring me to life."_

Anastasia finished washing her hair, she turned off the water, and stepped out of the shower. Her hair immediately stood on end, when it met the rush of cool air waiting to greet her. She shivered in the cool air, and wrapped herself in a towel.

Standing in front of the mirror, she toweled out her hair. For being curly, and thick, it dried surprisingly quickly. Anastasia got dressed as quick as she could into a pair of skinny jeans, and a t-shirt, as it was warm outside. It wasn't too warm for jeans, however, a fact that she was forever grateful for. There was no worse feeling that it being really hot, and having to wear jeans. Well, technically speaking, she didn't _have_ to wear jeans, she just hated wearing shorts. It was the same thing, in her opinion.

She didn't put all her jewelry on today, as she was just going around London; but she still wore her may ankle bracelets and simple studs in her ears, just because she liked them. People often thought she was bohemian with her features- especially when she was in her full 'fortune teller' costume. Anastasia supposed she did look rather bohemian with her facial features.

Grabbing her purse that held all her earthly possessions (except books), she walked out the door, practically running down the flight of stairs. Except, she wasn't fast enough.

"Girlie!" Wilson shouted. "I want my money!" _Oh shit. _Anastasia groaned, banging her head against the wall. She had forgotten to pay Wilson; and she didn't have any money since _demons_ seem determined to keep stalking her. Hearing her groan, her overweight landlord came out of his den, glaring at her with bloodshot eyes. "You'll be out by tonight, if you don't give me my money, now!"

What was she going to do? Anastasia didn't have any money, or not near enough for rent. _Well, I'm fucked. _Wait… Anastasia looked down in her purse, where she had part of the sum that Ciel had left for her. Calculating, she glanced at it, her mind racing. Even half of the money that Ciel had left for her was enough to pay rent. Should she?

Making up her mind, she took enough money to pay for the next two months, and tossed it to Wilson.

"Here," she called. His dog hound eyes were widened with surprise. He knew that she rarely had money, and usually didn't even pay rent on time. Anastasia knew that he was probably wondering how she acquired the money, and was probably jumping to conclusions, but she couldn't find it in her to care. "There's enough for two months," she added, seeing his greedy expression. He narrowed his eyes at her, before sniffing the money- as if to make sure it was real. Though, she didn't doubt his ability to sniff out counterfeit, especially with his close resemblance to a bloodhound.

After 'making sure' it was real, he retreated to his office. no doubt planning to spend the entire day watching crap tele. Anastasia rolled her eyes at the disgusting old man, and continued on her way downstairs. When she made it to the street, she hailed a cab, one passing her by, before another stopped. One good thing about being a woman in London, is that cabs stopped easier for you. Getting in the cab, Anastasia sat down in the seat.

"Where to, Miss?" The driver asked. She thought about it for a moment, and decided to start near the shop.

"Vigo street, please," Anastasia said politely. Nodding, he started driving, and she put earbuds in, just so she wouldn't have to participate in any awkward cab conversation. She hated it when people did that- she's just trying to get from one place, to another- why does there have to be conversation? Generally, Anastasia was a nice- sometimes- person. She was polite, she had manners. She just hated talking to people that she didn't have to. It seemed unnecessary to her. (Plus she was just anti-social).

They soon arrived at her destination, and after she paid the cabbie, she got out and started to explore. _There's a book shop nearby,_ she mused. Maybe she should go in… But her gaze was caught by something that distracted her from everything else. A witchcraft shop. Anastasia had heard about these.

Witchcraft shops were basically shops that specialized in everything supernatural. Not like her's, where she told people's fortunes, but a place that actually sold spells and whatnot. She had always been at least semi-skeptical about places like this, but with the recent events, she needed help. _Maybe they even sell protection against demons…_ God knows she could use some of that.

Making up her mind, she stepped inside the shop, a bell announcing her entrance. The sunlight shone down on the dancing dust motes. Nobody was at the deserted, oak counter, so Anastasia took a moment to browse the shelves. The shop was stocked with all sorts of strange items. There was one thing that looked like a doll made out of human hair. Shuddering, Anastasia turned away, to look at other things. There were many bottles, filled with indescribable liquids. The bottles were dusty, from never having been moved. Anastasia's gaze was drawn to a particular gold potion, that stood out to her on the shelf. Reaching out her hand, she picked it up.

The bottle was surprisingly warm, as if it had been sitting in the sun for a long time. Tilting it, she could have sworn that the liquid glittered in the light. As soon as she picked it up, Anastasia was filled with a warm feeling that she hadn't felt since her mother died. But it wasn't entirely warm… It was as if happiness and sadness had combined, and she was feeling the aftermath of the two. It wasn't a particularly _good _feeling; in fact, she couldn't quite describe it. Suddenly, she was filled with the desire to open it. Slowly, she reached up her hand uncork the bottle.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," the shopkeeper said from behind her. Startled, she dropped the bottle, it falling out of her grasp, before she spun around. Using incredibly fast reflexes, he caught it right before it was about to hit the ground. Anastasia gasped quietly.

"I'm so sorry," she apologized in a hushed tone. She didn't quite know why she was speaking so softly; there was just something about this shop that made her feel like it. The man smiled at her.

The man was much older than her, she estimated his age to be about sixty. There were smile lines around his eyes, showing that he laughed a lot. His eyes were a light blue, and he had greying, brown hair… He reminded her of her father, before he had started drinking.

"It's quite alright," he reassured, placing the bottle back on the shelf, "I was more worried that you may open it. Angel tears can be a dangerous thing." Her eyes widened. Angel tears? Apparently there was more to the world, than even she knew. That is, if it was real. The man straightened up, after putting the bottle away, and looked at her kindly. "Is there anything that you need in particular today, young miss?" He asked.

"Ah," Anastasia started, her eyes drifting downwards as she remembered why she came in here in the first place. "I'm in need of… _protection._" The man gave her a curious look, tilting his head to the side.

"Well, we have many protection spells that may help you," the man began. Anastasia shook her head.

"Ah, I'm looking for something a bit… _stronger_," she said nervously. She didn't want to outright say that she was looking for a way to ward off demons, since a couple were following her around. No, that would make her sound crazy. _Which, may be true… _The man looked confused.

"I'm afraid I can't help me unless you tell me what it is you need protecting from," the man said helplessly. Anastasia looked down at the wood floor, shuffling her feet together. After a moment of silence, she looked back up at the man.

"…Demons…" She whispered. As soon as the word left her mouth, the man stiffened, as if his string had been pulled.

"Wait here," the man commanded, before turning around, and going into a room, hidden behind a curtain. Anastasia stood there in shock. It would have been completely logical for him to think that she was crazy, for needing protection against demons, but that didn't explain his reaction. She pondered on it for another few moments, before the man reappeared, holding a small vial filled with a clear liquid.

"Here," he said, handing her the vial. It was a bulb shaped glass vial, that was attached to a gold chain, so it could be worn as a necklace.

"What is it?" Anastasia asked, holding it up to the light. If she wasn't imagining it, she could almost feel a warmth coming from the bottle.

"Holy water- most deadly to demons," the man said, giving her a soft smile. There was something else in his smile, something almost like pity. Anastasia smiled wryly to herself. She wouldn't normally consider herself someone to pity, but since the events lately, she wasn't so sure.

"What does it do?" She asked.

"If you are ever accosted by a demon, just throw it on them," the man said mysteriously. Anastasia tilted her head, what would it do? Would it hurt them? She glanced back at the bottle again. Whichever it was, it didn't matter. Any protection against Claude and Ciel would be worth it, no matter how small.

"How much is it?" Anastasia inquired, finally able to tear her gaze away from the bottle.

"Fifteen pounds," the man answered. Anastasia's eyes widened in shock. Fifteen pounds? For a small vial? _Then again… _She thought, _Any protection, or weapon, is worth it. _Sighing, she counted out the money, and handed it to the man. _This better work…_ As she turned around to leave, purchase in hand, the old man called out to her again.

"Young miss," he started. Anastasia turned around to face him. He seems to be choosing his words carefully. "I would be careful, if I were you." Anastasia stood in shock for a moment, before smiling sadly at the man.

"The sad thing is," she said, with a bittersweet smile, "I was." Nodding at the man, she turned around and left the store, the bell ringing behind her.

"Ah, young miss," he said, his eyes following the young woman who was walking down the street, "Were you careful enough?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~(A/N)~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hey guys, here's the next chapter! I hope you liked it, I know not a whole lot happened, but I was setting some stuff up. I know, no Ciel; I'm sorry, but he will most likely be in the next chapter. FYI, that song was Bring Me to Life by Evanscence. (I think that's how you spell it…) Anyway, hope you liked it, and please don't forget to review!

Reviews:

Darkshadow400: I"m glad you like it & the way I portrayed Ciel! (I like doing the dark side as well)

Awesomealixe: Yay! I'm glad you love this story! (I hope you liked this chapter, and what happened to Anastasia!)

Lhasa Orihara-Sturluson-chan: (I agree on Claude- bad Claude, BAD!) I've always loved it when Ciel is portrayed as really possessive, so that's why I made him this way. (I love him too). I know! I hate it when people leave out the Undertaker!

Esmereilda: It's not that I really enjoy having Claude in my pics (though I do), it's that he makes a good villain, and people already know him. (I also enjoy getting to plan his death in creative ways! I'm not a psychopath…)

YInxShroundForever: I'm glad you like my writing!

Please review, even if it's only one word!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~tardiscompanion101~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

It was another rather pleasant, late, Wednesday afternoon, the sun was out- for once- and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. But it was also hot as hell. Anastasia wasn't exaggerating- it was awful. London typically wasn't very hot, so when it was even relatively warm outside- all hell broke loose.

Anastasia sprawled out in her winged, arm chair, her legs over the arm. Since none of the buildings in London didn't have air conditioning, for some god-forsaken reason, she was roasting. Using her hand to fan herself, she could barely concentrate on her book it was so damn hot.

A few people had already come in, in the morning when it was still a decent temperature, but nobody would be coming in now that it felt like Mordor. Honestly, she lived in England, for God's sake, not Australia!

Giving up on her book, she threw onto the floor, it landing with a thump. Anastasia groaned aloud to the room, giving up on doing anything useful what-so-ever. Or not so useful, it didn't really matter to her. Getting up, Anastasia opened the windows, hoping to tempt a cool breeze through her shop. She usually hated opening her windows, since bugs could just fly in whenever they felt like it. And she had a severe phobia of insects of any kind, especially spiders.

When opening her window, she noticed the bookshop across the street, called 'Bookworm Cafe'. It was a favorite of hers, since she could get all the sugar she desired, and buy a crap-load of books. Glancing at her already full shelves, she hesitated. _Do I really need more books…?_ Well, she did have more room in her apartment… _Done._

Abruptly slamming the window down, Anastasia grabbed her purse, and practically skipped to the bakery. Food and books, two of her favorite things. _Well, two of pretty much everyone's favorite things… _Everyone who wasn't absolutely stupid.

The cheerful bell rang as she entered the cafe, and Anastasia swung into her usual booth in the corner. There were only a few people in the air-conditioned cafe, since it wasn't a very well-known destination.

Within in seconds of her arriving, a waiter who looked to be about her age walked up to her.

"Hello, my name's Casper, is there anything you would like today?" The male waiter asked. Anastasia smiled quickly at him, before glancing down at the paper menu that was placed on the table.

"Uh, could I please have an apple turnover, and hot chocolate?" Anastasia asked, looking up at the waiter. He grinned at her, before jotting down her order, and rushing off back to the kitchen. Smiling to herself, Anastasia picked her book out of her purse, and began to continue reading.

She was reading a new book called The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place: the Mysterious Howling. It was a cute book, and she enjoyed it. It was a mystery series that had four books so far, about a fifteen-year-old governess, named Penelope, who took care of three children who had literally been raised by wolves. It was a good story, and an easy read.

As she was reading her book, the waiter, Casper, came up to her table, and dropped off her order. She glanced up at him, and said a quick thank you, before turning back to her book- not seeing the flirtatious look he sent her way. Picking up her apple turnover, she began to nibble on it, caught up in her story.

Anastasia must have been reading for at least another hour in the cafe, because once she finished her book her hot chocolate was still half-full, and cold. Taking a sip of her chilled hot chocolate, and grimacing at the taste, she tossed it into the nearest bin. She shifted uncomfortably in her seat, the small vial of holy water pressed into her side. Wincing slightly, she shifted in her seat, to get rid of the discomfort.

Ever since she had gotten the small vial, she had worn it on her every day. So far, she thankfully hadn't had a reason to use it. She doubted that would last, with all the strange things that were happening.

Sighing, Anastasia took a black notebook out of her purse and a pen, and started to make a list.

Supernatural Activities, she scrawled in her notebook, in her usual, shit handwriting.

1. Met a demon called 'Ciel Phantomhive', who was curious in my 'psychic abilities'.

2. Met a man called the Undertaker, who seemed to want to help me. Was extraordinarily useless.

3. A demon called 'Claude Faustus', who seemed to know Ciel. (Do all demons know each other?)

Anastasia chewed on her pencil, unable to think of anything else. She didn't consider herself to have an extremely exciting life, besides having psychic abilities, and making money off of it. She had a relatively normal life, where nothing ever happened. She used to think that was a bad thing, but now she was rethinking that.

"Is there anything else I can get you?" Casper asked from behind her. Anastasia quickly slammed her notebook shut, and turned to face him, plastering a fake smile to her face.

"Um, yes please, actually," Anastasia answered politely, "Could I have another hot chocolate?" Casper nodded, and this time she noticed the flirtatious smile he sent her way. Her cheeks flushing pink, she looked down at her notebook, and pretended to scribble something in the margins.

Anastasia breathed a sigh of relief once he was gone, thankfully. To be fair, she was never really 'flirted' with much, but when she was she didn't know how to react. She either just blushed and muttered something, before leaving immediately, or she shot them down like a moose in hunting season. There was literally no in between.

After a few more minutes of pretending to write in her notebook, but really just staring blankly at the pages, her hot chocolate arrived. Anastasia glanced up nervously at Casper, before quickly taking her hot chocolate from him. Feeling awkward, she took a quick sip, burning her tongue.

"You know," Casper said, leaning over her, "You don't meet that many cute girls, here." Anastasia froze, distracted by the leer on his face. What the hell do you do in these situations? Anastasia wasn't experienced in this, what was she supposed to do?

"Uhhhh…" Anastasia said, her mind whirring at a thousand miles per hour. "I have a boyfriend!" She blurted out. As soon as the sentence left her mouth, she fought the urge to facepalm. Could she have been a normal human being, and just stated that she wasn't interested? No, because she is the flipping embodiment of Winnie the Pooh, and she doesn't want to hurt anyone's feelings. _Why did God make me like this?_ Casper didn't seem to believe her at first. He backed up a bit, which she was thankful for, and gave her a disbelieving stare.

"Really," he asked, unbelieving, "What's his name?" Anastasia froze. Shit, what was his name?

"Ciel Phantomhive," she blurted out, saying the first name that popped into her head. Well, she upgraded from wanting to facepalm, to wanting to hit herself in the face with a brick. _Why on earth did I say that? Am I _actually _an idiot?_

Even though that she now hated herself, Casper backed off, and apologized for his advances. Feeling her stress levels lowering, Anastasia promptly hit herself in the head with her book, once Casper was out of sight.

"Am I a moron?" She groaned to herself, flushing from head to foot. Apparently she was. Not wanting to spend another moment in that cafe, she quickly finished her hot chocolate. Swinging her purse onto her arm, she stood up from her seat. When she glanced out the window, she was greeted with a shock. She must have been in the cafe longer than she had thought, because it was now dark. Nervous, Anastasia hesitated near the door, before going outside. She always tried to avoid going out in London when it was dark, purely because she didn't fancy the idea of being murdered.

Anastasia glanced down the street, before hurriedly crossing it. In the night, the lengthening shadows were playing tricks on her eyes. During the night, every trash bin was transformed into a monster, every abandoned box on the side of the rode, a demon.

As she was walking down the street, she walked past a group of several boys. When she passed them, she did her best to keep her head down, and to not make eye contact- not that it worked.

"Hey," one of them called, "Sexy lady!" Anastasia kept walking with her head down, not acknowledging them in any way. One of the others in the group wolf-whistled at her, and she bristled. She was filled with seething rage, but knew better than to provoke a most likely high teenager, on a dark night.

"Hey," he said angrily, running after her, "I was talkin' to you!" He ran up to her, and caught her arm.

"Excuse me," she said, as politely as she could, still clinging to the hope that she could get a clean getaway. That was not the case. As soon as the short sentence exited her lips, the boy tightened his grip on her, and she was soon surrounded by him and his friends. Anastasia froze, her eyes darting from side to side, trying to figure out if she could escape or not.

She was fairly fit, and she was good with her knives. She had gotten into fights in the past- outnumbered. But it was one thing to fight one on three, and this was more like one on seven. Broaching down, Anastasia got into position, forcing her body to lighten up, so she could attack.

Before she could even grab her knives, all at once, all the boys were thrown against the nearest brick wall. Anastasia straightened up, staring in shock at the pile of boys that had collapsed. Unfortunately, they didn't stay down for long, and most of them were back up again.

"Wot was 'at?" A different one demanded, holding a knife threateningly towards thin air. His eyes were darting side to side in the darkness, unable to see anything in the dim lighting.

"Must've been the wi'd," another one answered, scratching the back of his head. Before another one could pop up, the three standing ones were thrown against the wall. Hard. Anastasia was pretty sure that she heard their spines break. She winced slightly at the sound, but didn't feel too bad for them. After all, who knows what they could have done.

At the noise, the four remaining boys got up, and started to run. Unfortunately for them, they didn't make it that far. Once they had taken two steps, an unidentifiable force swept them off their feet, and slammed them into a building.

On unsteady feet, Anastasia started to back away, holding two throwing knives loosely in her hands.

"Who's there?" She asked cautiously, shifting her weight from foot to foot, to keep her balance. "Ciel or Claude?" Anastasia asked, shifting her eyes from place to place, "Or are you someone else?" Hearing a familiar faint chuckle, she relaxed slightly, but not completely. Soon, Ciel stepped into the lamplight, the glow illuminating his black top hat, on top of his navy blue hair.

"Hello, Anastasia," Ciel greeted, with a tip of his hat. Anastasia tightened her lips, and nodded back reluctantly. She supposed she was grateful for him saving her, even if it was Ciel. "You do tend to attract trouble, don't you," Ciel said casually.

"I don't attract trouble, trouble finds me," Anastasia snapped at him. Ciel arched an eyebrow.

"Hm," he chuckled, "I suppose that's true." He gave a mock bow. "If that is the case, then please allow 'trouble' to walk you home." Anastasia pursed her lips. Even if she said no, he would insist and/or follow her anyway.

"_Fine_," she huffed, spinning on her heel, and starting to walk towards her apartment. As she strode away from Ciel, she didn't see the smirk hat curved his lips, before he caught up to her.

"So," Ciel said casually, "How did you manage to get in trouble this time?" Anastasia rolled her eyes at him.

"_I_ didn't get in trouble," she corrected, "_I _was just walking down the street, and some boys thought it would be appropriate for them to start catcalling me." Ciel froze in his tracks for a moment, and she stopped to stare at him. "Is something wrong?" She asked concernedly. He may be an evil creature from hell, but it would take a lot more than that to override her protective instincts.

Ciel shook his head, as if ridding himself of his thoughts.

"I should have…" He growled to himself, glaring into the distance. Anastasia snapped her fingers in front of his face, effectively snapping him out of it.

"Oi!" She exclaimed, "What is it?" Ciel stared at her in shock for a moment, as if astonished that she would dare do that to him.

"Nothing," he said dismissively, schooling his features. There was an edge in his tone that warned Anastasia not to question more about it. And for once, she listened.

They soon arrived at her apartment, and at that moment, Anastasia remembered the holy water that was in her pocket. Freezing, Anastasia stood to face Ciel, conflicted.

_He did help me… _

_ Well! He also called you his property, and wants to use you!_ Ciel bowed slightly from the waist, when they arrived at her apartment. Anastasia nodded curtly back, her mind debating on what to do. _Do I see if it works, or not…?_

"Anastasia," Ciel said dryly, "Do try to stay out of trouble. It would be rather… problematic should I have to rescue you again." Anastasia flushed with anger at that.

"I didn't need you to save me!" Anastasia retorted, "I was fine by myself, thanks." Ciel arched an eyebrow.

"I'll keep that in mind, then, next time." Ciel tipped his hat slightly to me, before sauntering away under the lamplight. _Just spray it at him!_ Soon, though, Ciel was gone, and the opportunity to test the holy water was gone. Anastasia wasn't sure why she didn't use it, in the first place.

_Well_, she thought, _He did save me, after all. Besides, I think it'd be best if I saved it for an emergency, or something like that… _With that thought in her mind, and feeling tired from the day's adventures, she went up to her room, and fell asleep.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~(A/N)~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hi, it's too late to actually read through this, so I'm so sorry for everything that happened in this chapter. Anywho, if you're as tired as I am, and you liked it, please review, they make me so so so so so so so happy.

Reviews:

Sakemori: I did tell you about it! It's _your _fault for not listening! *Sticks out tongue, childishly* Hmm.. Please, I was here before there _was_ a God, or even hell. I am one of the creators of the universe.

Scorpia1029: Yay!~ I'm glad you like it! (I'm sorry I took so long to update, I'm extremely lazy)

LinneaFox: Yay! I hope you liked the chapter!

KingCastles: I actually have a very wide variety of music tastes, which ranges from classic (Yo Yo Ma), to Kesha. (In my defense, I was listening to a nightmare playlist, and I had no idea what the lyrics were saying. Oops)

The Anime Dragon: He may… (But probably not). And thanks a lot. Now I have those images in my head, too.

Pepperkc: I will soon, but since this isn't a SebastianXOc fic, he won't be as important.

Emsereilda: I know! Isn't it?! I feel like that should be the official theme song for this fic, so whenever you read it, you listen to that song. Alright, it's official. THE OFFICIAL SONG FOR THIS FIC IS BRING ME TO LIFE BY EVANESCENCE.

PLEASE REVIEWWWWW!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~tardiscompanion101~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Today was odd, to say the least. Anastasia was currently standing in front of a yoga studio with Vivanna. Her best friend, Vivianna had dragged her out of her apartment by her hair, and forced her to come with her to yoga. Anastasia had never been much of a yoga person, preferring to dance whenever she could. She loved ballet, and although she could never afford classes, she tried to learn whenever she could.

"Come on!" Vivanna called cheerfully at her, holding open the door. Anastasia reluctantly followed her into the cool, air-conditioned building- one of the few in London.

It was a newer building, proven by the fact that it was actually air-conditioned, and the modern looking outside. Her shoes stuck slightly to the laminated tiles as Anastasia gazed around curiously. She got a few odd looks because of her appearance, but less so than she would have gotten had she been wearing her full makeup. Though she doubted the looks were mostly directed towards her, since she wasn't the one with blue hair.

They quickly paid the nice, elderly woman at the counter, before moving into the yoga room. There were little lockers lining the wall, and Anastasia ditched her stuff in one of them.

"Is this your first time doing yoga?" Vivianna asked, slamming her locker shut and turning to face her friend. Anastasia nodded.

"Is it that difficult?" She asked, furrowing her brow. Vivianna laughed, throwing her head back.

"It'll be easy for you!" She exclaimed dismissively, "You have amazing balance anyway. Remember when you walked down the _entire_ tightrope at the fair and you won like a bajillion prizes?" A smile tugged at Anastasia's lips at the memory. Vivianna had taken her to the circus, since she'd never been, and she had awed all of the stall workers with her balance. Anastasia had to get someone to carry all of her prizes to their car.

"Good point," Anastasia answered, grinning. Vivianna smirked in response, before linking arms with her and moving her towards the middle. Anastasia rolled out her borrowed yoga mat that was covered in purple flowers.

Before long, their instructor came in and smiled at all of them.

"Good afternoon everyone," she said with a winning smile, "It's nice to see you all." She settled herself up in the front, crossing her legs in indian-style. After instructing them to do the same, they began the Om. Everyone in the room hummed deep in their throats, filling the room with the sound. Almost everyone had their eyes closed, enjoying the serenity.

Anastasia cracked open an eyelid, glancing at Vivianna. The Om was said to be the sound of the universe, or so Vivianna had told her. She didn't really understand how humming was the sound of the universe, but it was their beliefs. She didn't want to impose on them.

Through her cracked eyelid, she examined everyone in the room out of habit. Up front, there was an overweight woman who was already sweating, even though they hadn't done anything strenuous yet. To her right, there was a young woman- about eighteen- who was very relaxed and had obviously done this a million times. As Anastasia let her gaze wander around the room, she noticed something strange. Most of these people were familiar to her.

Staring at the back of a brunette's head, Anastasia furrowed her brow. She had caught a glimpse of her earlier, and she was certain that she had seen her before. But where?

As if the woman could sense the eyes staring questioningly at her, she turned around to face her. Anastasia could see something in her eyes, a mixture of familiarity and mischief. The woman smirked at her, looking at her knowingly, before turning right back around to face the front. Anastasia sat in muted shock. The woman had obviously recognized her, what other reason would she have for doing this?

There rest of the class passed quickly, and Anastasia found herself to be quite good at yoga, much to her disbelief. But she couldn't find it in her to care as she continued to stare at the strange brunette.

"Hey," Vivianna said, after the ending Om had finished and everyone was packing up to leave. Anastasia snapped out of her trance, and turned to smile at her friend.

"Yeah?" Anastasia inquired. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see the brunette talking to her friend.

"Are you okay, you seem a little… off," Vivianna commented hesitantly. Anastasia grinned reassuringly.

"I'm fine, I had a lot of fun!" She said cheerfully. Vivianna's worried demeanor quickly melted away, and she smiled in relief.

"Good, I'm glad you're okay," she said. Anastasia smiled back at her, and let her drag her away. As she walked behind her, Anastasia let her smile drop as she glanced backwards at the mysterious brunette. At the last moment, Anastasia could have sworn that the brunette flashed a cunning grin at her. Blinking, Anastasia looked ahead, making sure to ignore everything else.

_What was that? Who was she, anyway?_ Anastasia could have sworn that she had seen that woman before, but where? She wracked her brain, searching in her memories for that face, to no avail.

When they got to the corner, Vivianna hailed a cab for them. Once they got in, Vivianna turned to face her.

"I'm glad you could come with me today, wanna do it again sometime?" Vivianna asked sweetly. Anastasia returned her smile just a brightly, before nodding.

"I'd love to," Anastasia answered, her mind drifting back to the strange woman. The two friends sat in a comfortable silence for several moments, Anastasia staring out the window at the passing streets.

"Do you need to be dropped off back at your apartment?" Vivanna inquired, turning her head to look at her. Anastasia began to nod, but hesitated.

"Actually," she said, changing her mind, "Could you take me to the library?" Vivianna nodded, before addressing the driver and directing him to the nearest library. They soon arrived, and Anastasia got out of the cab.

"Thanks for taking me," Anastasia thanked Vivianna with a smile. Vivianna grinned back, tossing her hair over one shoulder.

"Any time, sweetheart, you need to get out more!" Anastasia rolled her eyes to herself as the cab drove off, taking her friend with it. Sighing, she turned around to face the stone steps going up to the library. Steading herself, Anastasia began the steep climb up the stone staircase.

Anastasia needed to do some more research on 'Ciel Phantomhive'. She didn't know if there would even be anything on him, but she had to try. After all, it was worth a shot.

Entering the library, she didn't take time to enjoy the scent of books and the serenity as she usually did. She beelined her way towards the newspapers and articles in the back. There were computers in the back that could show you pretty much every article known to man, going back as far as the seventeenth century. Anastasia was sure that she could find at least _something_.

Sitting down on the stool in front of a computer, she hesitated. She didn't know exactly how old Ciel was. Logically, he had to be at least kind of old to have that much power. Anastasia focused on when she had read his past. _He was a noble, so it had to be somewhere near the 1800s. _She knew that much, but when exactly? She focused harder, squeezing her eyes shut. A bead of sweat appeared on her forehead. _1875._

The thought popped into her head so suddenly, that she wasn't sure if she had just made it up or not. Nevertheless, her eyes flew open and she typed it out on the keyboard. Using the mouse, she clicked on the first article that popped up.

The first several articles were useless, not mentioning anything worthwhile. However, the sixth article proved to be what she was looking for.

The article was titled 'Long Live the Phantomhives!', and dated December 17, 1875. Clicking on it, Anastasia began to scan it the short article, engrossed in her reading. The article said:

_**The Phantomhives have recently had an heir to their legacy! Rachel and Vincent Phantomhive recently gave birth to their son, Ciel Phantomhive. The young boy will soon become the heir to a large- and mysterious- inheritance. The Phantomhives- also known as the Guard Dogs of the Queen- have always been shrouded in mystery, no one is entirely certain what they do**_**. **

Anastasia paused in her reading for a moment, for some reason that line seemed familiar to her. Where had she heard that phrase before, 'Guard Dog of the Queen'? Shrugging, Anastasia turned back to her reading.

_**Society gladly welcomes the newest addition to the Phantomhive family, and expects to see great things in the future.**_

The article ended there, leaving Anastasia at a loss. It hadn't proved itself extremely useful, so she clicked back to her previous page to search some more. This time, she searched ten years after the previous date, hoping that there would be more articles concerning the oh-so-mysterious Ciel Phantomhive.

Scrolling down, she kept going until she found something of interest. Once again clicking on an article, she began to read.

The process was slow and tedious, and she still couldn't find anything. There wasn't' even a small mention of a Phantomhive anywhere! Time passed quickly, and before she knew it, it was almost closing time. Rubbing her bleary eyes with her fists, Anastasia clicked on one last article in hope that it would somehow be useful. Fortunately, it was.

The article was dated January 7, 1885, and titled "The Phantomhive Return". Encouraged by the title, Anastasia began to read enthusiastically.

_**Following the fire that ravaged the Phantomhive manor, Ciel Phantomhive returns after the death of his mother and father! The esteemed noble- only ten years of age- has been granted the title of the Queen's Guard Dog, after his predecessor, Vincent Phantomhive. Ciel Phantomhive refused to say where he had been all this time, instead saying that he would continue to look ahead and serve the Queen. **_

The article went on to say how a ceremony was going to be held in a few weeks, formally bestowing the title upon Ciel. Anastasia sat in shock at the screen, staring blankly at it. That was a lot to happen to one person, she should know. To have your house burn down and to have your parents murdered in their beds? Anastasia also recalled when she had looked into Ciel's past, the brief glimpse at a cult. She had a feeling she knew where he was during that month…

"Excuse me, Miss?" One of the librarians asked. Anastasia whipped around in her chair, quickly closing her current window.

"Yes?" She responded pleasantly, making sure to keep a smile on her face. The librarian wasn't that much older than her, only by two years at the most. She was quite cute with long brown hair in a bun.

"I'm afraid that stye library is closing in five minutes, and you'll have to leave," she said with a sympathetic smile. She obviously assumed that Anastasia was studying for a test or something, and had to get her work done. Smiling quickly back at her, Anastasia hopped to her feet, pulling her bag up with her.

"No problem!" Anastasia answered good naturedly. Looking the librarian up and down, Anastasia briefly considered asking for her number. After all, she was quite cute. Anastasia wasn't 'lesbian', but actually pansexual. She wasn't attracted to the gender, but the person. In her mind, this made more sense than falling in love with someone purely because of their genitals.

After a small debate in her head, she decided not to. This wasn't the best time to be looking for a relationship, not when demon was chasing after her. Nodding politely, Anastasia made her way out of the library.

Apparently during the time she was locked away inside the library, it started raining and Anastasia had to run to the street corner to hail a cab. Holding her bag over her head, Anastasia stuck out her hand to hair a cab. When it stopped, she gratefully started to get in. As she did so, she caught a glimpse of familiar brown hair out of the corner of her eye.

Jerking her head in that direction, Anastasia could have sworn she saw the same woman from yoga out of the rain streaked window. _What was she doing here? Is she following me?_

"Where to Miss?" The cab driver asked. Snapping out of her thoughts for now, Anastasia quickly answered.

"Walcorn street please," she said shortly, before turning her head to stare out the window. The cab driver nodded, before starting to drive in that direction. Unbeknownst to her, the cab driver's eyes glowed bright fuchsia before turning back to their normal red.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~(A/N)~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hey guys, sorry it took so long. Sorry for the short chapter, but hope you liked it all the same! XD Also, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW! I'm a review whore, reviews make me oh-so-happy!

Reviews:

Scorpia1029: Yay! Thanks, hope you liked this chapter. (Don't worry, she probably will) *Wink wink*

Esereilda: I haven't, but I'll be sure to look it up! Ah, Ciel, ever the gentleman! (Although he is technically the spawn of satan). And don't worry, Anastasia's saving it up for something special… Or someone…

Pleassssseeee review! XD

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~tardiscompanion101~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


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